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Colors Convey Messages
By: Ian Roberts
Color is the most instantaneous and wonderful means for delivering and communicating messages and meanings to the intended audience. Much of the reaction to color is subtle, triggered by tiny nerve ending and chemicals in the brain, that either excite, sadden, overwhelm or inspire the viewer, when coming in contact with various colors.
Different hues and saturation levels can convey elegance, creativity and seriousness, while others convey experience, excitement, vitality and dependability. Below, you will find some general guidelines on how to go about conveying your message to the masses, while using something as simple as color.
Yellow is perceived as cheerful and energetic, yet mellow and soft. Just like the mid summer sunshine, it portrays hope, happy times and used as a way to grab one's attention.
Examples: NY City Taxi Cabs, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, Kodak Films, Dummies Books, Nestle Quick Chocolate Milk, and McDonalds. In nature yellow can be seen on bees, fish, sunflowers and of course, the sun.
Orange is a friendly, vital, inviting, energetic and playful color. Orange is perhaps the hottest of all colors, which is why almost everyone can relate to it in some way or another, especially children.
Examples: Sunkist (fruit and soda), KIX cereal, Cingular Wireless, Nickelodeon, Tide detergent, Jamba Juice and Southwest Airlines. Other naturally occurring orange colors are goldfish, flowers and tangerines!
Red excites, stimulates and creates arousal. People often think of the color as daring, dynamic, bold and sexy. In print, red is an aggressive color, whereas it commands attention and action.
Examples: Coca-Cola, Staples, Red Cross, Budweiser, CNN and the Chicago Bulls. Other everyday examples are red sports cars, red dresses, red lipsticks, red ties as well as red STOP signs.
Brown is the ultimate traditional earth color, associated with substance, durability and security. It's earthly tones lend perfectly to food and food related items.
Examples: UPS (United Parcel Service), Hersheys Chocolate, Godiva, Baltimore Orioles, aged and rich beers, coffees, cigars and chocolates. Other examples are brown leather chairs, furniture and portfolios covers.
Green is the color of nature, and everything that goes with it. It has been described as refreshing, healing, soothing and prestigious (when associated with money and banks).
Examples: 7-Up, Sprite, First Union Bank, Apple Jacks cereal, DoubleMint gum, Scope mouth wash and GreenPeace. Other examples of soothing green can be found everywhere in nature, from vegetables to meadows and forests.
Blue is a very stable and dependable color. As with the ocean and sky that are always constant, blue inspires confidence, commitment and a sense of serenity and peace.
Examples: HP, IBM, BMW and Volks Wagon. Many financial institutions, mortgage brokers and large corporations that are conservative in nature, tend to use blue. Water bottling companies also use blue to portray freshness.
Purple reflects elegance, sensuality, spirituality and creativity. Purple is perhaps the most complicated and rare color, hence referred to as a majestic and royal, fit for kings.
Examples: This color is representative of rare and sensual products or services, such as lingerie shops, flower shops, etc. Most businesses are hesitant to use purple because of its sensual properties.
Black is strong, classic, mysterious and powerful. The most sophisticated shade of the spectrum, people associated it with style, elegance, and expensive taste.
Examples: Many designer logos are comprised of simple black lettering or logos. They include DKNY, Calvin Klein, Rolex, Rolls Royce, Kenneth Cole and YSL.
Whether you are designing a self promotion piece, or one for a client, always keep in mind that color can make or break an advertisement piece, packaging or product or service, if used incorrectly.
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Ian Roberts is a veteran of graphic design with over twenty years experience, focusing on traditional graphic design techniques.
Ian makes his home in both Canada and the United Kingdom, migrating between the two residences whenever the weather gets cold in one place or the other! Mr. Roberts enjoys sailing and watersports whenever time permits.
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